Road marking machine



Nov. 10, 1942. l. H. BEAMAN 2,301,847

ROAD MARKING MACHINE- Filed April 2, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l I Tvw pf. www

INVEN-ro'n l @m @,gmay

f ATToRrxEYs f Nov. 10, 1942. l. H. BEAMAN ROAD MARKING MACHINE 5v Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 2,' 1940 ATTO Nov. l0, 1942. l. H. BEAMAN ROAD MARKING MACHINE 5 sheets-sheet 5 Filed April 2, 1940 NVENTOR M @m N f N mf. r l5 M M Nov. l0, 1942. l. H. 'BEAMAN 2,301,847

ROAD MARKING MACHINE ATTO NEYS Nov. 10, 1942. l. H. BEAMAN ROAD MARKING MACHINE Filed April g, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 m.. .www wml l VE TO /g EMN, ,Mr ATTORNEY? Patented Nov. 10, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROAD MARKING MACHINE y Ira H. Beaman, Buffalo, N. Y., assigner of onehalf to Burnwell Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application April 2, 1940, Serial N0. 327,487

37 claims.

My invention relates in general to road marking machines and in particular to that type of machine which is used for striping state and county highways. It is well known to those skilled in the art that the pavement of state and county highways is now marked to indicate trafc llanes 4and the safe path for traffic to follow. It is customary to divide the traffic lanes by marking the pavement with a broken line of predetermined cycle, or with a solid line. It is desirable at some places in the highway to make a broken line on either side of a solid line. Moreover, in some places two solid `parallel lines are required. Furthermore, in some instances it is desirable to change from one color paint to another.

The principal object of my invention has been to provide a machine having a plurality of paint nozzles so designed that any one of the above mentioned line combinations may be made.

Another object has been to vprovide a device of this nature by which the cycle of an intermittent or broken line may be changed at will.

Another object has been to provide .a road marker having means whereby *the line spacing may be conveniently registered with a previously painted broken or solid line.

Another object has been to provide a road marking machine which shall have movable walls for defining the path'of the paint as it is applied `to the road, means being provided for bringing into road engaging vposition only those walls which are to be used at the time.

Another object has been to provide a machine whereby a number of colored paints may be appliedto the road.

A further object has been 'to provide means whereby the change of color may be brought about almost instantaneously by a single control valve.

Another object has been to provide a valve to be used in combination with `a number of spray nozzles handling different colored paints whereby the change from one color to another may be quickly made.

My device is provided with suitable cam means for automatically painting a broken line of predetermined cycle.

Another object has been to provide means for rendering inoperative the automatic cam action when it is desired to paint `a solid line.

Another object has been to provide a mounting for the paint channel defining Walls whereby when either of them strikes a foreign object in f the road it will be momentarily moved out of the way until the yobject has been passed over.

Furthermore, my device is of such a nature that it may be vused in a paint stri-per of the pushmo'bile typeY or drawn behind a truck.

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the device shown in the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is a side sectional elevationrof my coniplete machine and is taken on Aline l-l of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side sectional elevation showing one of the channel defining walls,

taken cn line l-l of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is 'a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View showing 'a modi.- iied form of invention in which two nozzles are used, each for a different colored paint with the coacting distributing units, control valves and connections therebetween.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal, sectional View taken through one of the distributing units.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, transverse sectional View of the two-color 'air control valve shown in Fig. 5

plates lr6 and l1 fastened together preferably by means of a wall shaft 26 and llink shaft 2li. Each of these shafts is sta'tionarily arranged and each is lprovided at each end with screwthreads for the reception of clamping nuts 22. Located along the upper edge 'of each of the side plates and extending inwardly therefrom is a reinforcing angle 23 to the forward end of each of which is secured the rear end of a draft Wishbone member 24. At the forward end of the Wishbone member there is provided a draft sleeve 25 in which is mounted a draft stein y2t which carries at its 'forward end a part 39 of a spherical socket, the other part 3| of which being arranged in front thereof. These two parts `are designed. to receive and hold a draft ball 32 in limited universalmanner. This ball is carried by a ball stem 33 which is suitably mounted upon the frame 34 of the pushmobile shown in Fig. l0 or upon a suitable angle member 35 carried at the rear of a truck, as shown in Fig, il.

Extending laterally of the frame l5 are two supporting ways Sil and 4| which have their ends preferably secured near the forward ends of the supporting angles 23. These ways are interspaced and provide means for adjustably fastening the Various parts of the device in place, as hereinafter described.

Arranged at the rear of the device is a plurality of paint walls 42, 43, 44 and 45. These walls are carried by the wall shaft 2e and the link shaft 2| and they are connected to these shafts by means of front wall links 4E, 5i), 5| and 52 and rear wall links 53, 54, 55 and 55. These walls when in road engaging position provide means for dening a paint channel during the painting operation and earch of them is formed with an upstanding part E0 and with a shoe 6| at its lower edge. The shoe comes in Contact with the pavement and is therefore made of hardened steel. It is detachably secured to the lower edge of the wall by means of screws 62.

The front wall links and the rear wall links carrying the walls are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the Walls and have substantially the same distance between pivotal connections so that the walls are lowered and raised to and out of road engaging position in parallelism with the surface of the pavement. The front wall link 45 carrying the wall 45 comprises an actuating part 63 and a free part S4. These parts are connected together by means of a bolt B5. In like manner, the front wall links 50, 5| and 52 each comprise an actuating part 66, 61 and 68, and a free part 51, 5vand 59. Each of the actuating parts 63, 56, 6l and 68 is formed at its upper end, respectively, with a hub 10, 1|, 12 and 13, each of which is loosely mounted upon the front link shaft 20. Each of these actuating link Iparts is of single thickness and is arranged between the interspaced side plates I4 of each of the free parts of the front wall links where it is pivotally united by means of the bolts 65. The outer ends of the plates I4 of the free parts of the link are disposed one on each side of their respective walls and are pivotally connected thereto by means of pivot bolts 75. Each of the actuating parts of the front wall links is provided with an arm 'l1 which' extends in between the side plates 74 of the free parts of the links for a lconsiderable distance beyond the pivot bolt 65 thereof and a suitable stop 'I8 connects the upper edges of the plates at a point opposite the arm 'l1 so that when the pivotal connections of the actuating and free parts of each of the iront links are brought in alignment, the end 'll will contact with the stop 18 and keep the parts in alignment. The free part of each link consisting of the plates |4 is kept in the position shown in Fig. 1 by means of a centralizing arm 'i9 which extends forwardly of the link and which is held in the position shown by means of a centralizing f spring 81. The upper end of this spring is extended by means of a rod 88 to the spring arm |2| where it is suitably fastened. Due to this arrangement, when the walls are held in their road engaging positions, as shown by the dot-anddash lines in Fig. 3, either of the walls will be free to` rise momentarily when a foreign object is encountered in the road. Such object will first ride along the inclined forward edge of the shoe 6| of the wall, raising the wall and causing the free part of the wall link to be oscillated about its pivotal connection with the actuating part thereof and upon the connecting pivot bolt 65. This oscillation is against the tension of the centralizing spring 81 and the `connected centralizing arm 19. As the foreign object is being passed over, the front end of the wall will swing on the free part of the front link and the rear end thereof will swing on the rear wall link, thus raising the wall in substantial parallelism with the road. When the foreign object has been passed over, the wall will again assume its parallel relation with the pavement. When the centralizing spring and centralizing arm draw the front wall link back to its normal position, the stop 18 will engage with the end of the actuating part of the link, thereby bringing the parts thereof into alignment.

Carried by the hub 'Hl of the front wall link 45 is an upstanding link arm 'Iii and carried by the hub 'i3 of the link 5?. is an upstanding arm 80.

The hubs 'H and 12 of the front wall links 55 and 5| each have an upstanding link arm 8| and 82, respectively. The link arms 8| and 2 are longer than the link arms 'l and 8i! for reasons to be hereinafter described.

Arranged between the front wall links 4t and 58 is a link actuating lever 83 having a hub 84 at its lower end and a pad 85 at its upper end. Likewise, between the front wall links 5?: and 5| is a link actuating lever 36 having a hub 9|) and a pad Si. In like manner, a link actuating lever 92 is mounted between the front wall links 5| and 52 and is provided at its lower end with a hub 93 and with a pad 94 at its upper end. Each of the link actuating levers 83 and 92 is provided near its lower end with an integral cross bar i5 and 95, respectively. The bar 55 extends across in front of the link arms 16 and 8|. The cross bar 95 extends vacross in front of the link arms S9 and 82. The link actuating lever 85 is provided with a cross arm |85 which is located above the cross bars 95 and 96 of the levers 83 and $2, and this cross bar is of suicient length to extend across in front of the link arms 8| and 32. Each of the link arms 1S, 8|, 82 and 80 is provided with a suitable set screw for Contact with the cooperating cross bar, whereby the position of the walls in respect to the pavement may be accurately adjusted. This arrangement of parts, as will hereinafter be more fully described, permits the operator, through suitable operating means, to select and bring into road engaging position the desired pair or pairs of walls; thus walls 42 and 43 may be used as a pair. Likewise walis 44 and 45 may be moved to road engaging position as a pair, or walls 43 and 44 may be moved to road engaging position in unison.

Wall actuating cylinders mi, |62 and |83 are provided for the link actuating levers 83, 85 land respectively. These cylinders are carried, respectively, by supporting brackets |04, |05 and |05. Each of these supporting brackets, as shown in Fig. 1, is preferably of angle-iron formation, the horizontal leg IE6 thereof being afjustably secured in place to the ways 4E) and 4| by means of bolts lll. The downwardly extending leg M2 of each bracket serves to provide means for supporting the connection H3 of each wall cylinder and also acts as a stop for the stop rod H4 of each link actuating lever. This stop rod has one end pivotally secured to the associated link actuating lever and its other eno' passed through a suitable aperture in the leg |I2 where it is provided with adjusting nuts |I5 which engage the outer surfaces of the leg when the selected link actuating lever is moved to lower the walls to their operative positions. Each of the cylinders is provided with a plunger ||6 which is actuated by air under pressure conducted to the cylinder through its connection ||3, to be hereinafter described. When the plunger I l5 is forced outwardly it causes the respective link actuating lever to be forced away from the cylinder. If, for instance, the pairs of wails 44 and 45 have been selected for engagement with the road, the cylinder will be actuated and the link actuating lever 83 will be operated. The cross bar 95 carried by this link will serve to push the link arms 'I6 and 0| outwardly and thereby cause the operation of the front wall links 43 and 50. Such movement will cause the walls 45 and 44 to be lowered to their road engaging positions. The amount of movement of these parts and the walls 45 and 44 is controlled by the stop rod ||4 'and stop nuts ||5.

Each front wall link is provided with a spring clip which is preferably secured under the pivot bolt 65. A wall returning spring |20 has its lower end secured to the spring clip and its upper end engaged by the hook of the spring arm 2|. This spring arm rests upon the supporting way 4| and has its inner end |22 passing down between the ways 40 and 4| and extended under the way 40. An adjusting screw |23 is carried by each of the spring arms and has its lower end engageable with the upper surface of the way 4| whereby the tension of the wall returning spring may be adjusted, a suitable lock nut being provided for setting the screw in its adjusted position. The wall returning springs |20 serve to return the walls to their normal elevated positions by pulling upwardly on the pivot bolts E of the front wall links, the centralizing spring 81 and centralizing arm 19 serving to keep the parts of each of such links in substantially rigid alignment.

The space between the paint walls 42, 43, 44 and 45, respectively, is determined by the position of the hubs 10, '|2 and '|3 of the front wall links. As hereinbefore pointed out, these hubs, as well as the hubs 84, 00 and 93, respectively, of the link actuating levers 83, 85 and 02 are loosely mounted upon the front link shaft 20, and are held in spaced relation by means of spacers |24 arranged between the respective groups of hubs. If the width of the paint channels formed between either group of walls is to be adjusted, either wider or narrower spacers |24 are put in place. These hubs and spacers are held together upon the shaft in their assembled relation by means of collars |25 fastened in place upon the shaft 20 by suitable set screw means.

Each paint channel formed by the walls 45 and 44, 44 and 43, 43 and 42 is provided, respectively, with a spray nozzle |26, and |3I. Each of these spray nozzles is a standard article of manufacture and therefore is not described lin detail except to point out that each of them is provided with a paint connection |32, an air spraying connection |33, and a cylinder connection |34 for operating the cylinder of the nozzle which controls the ow of paint, which connections will be hereinafter described. Each of these spray nozzles is suspended centrally within its paint channel between the pairs of walls by means of nozzle arms |35. These arms are pivot--V ally connected to lugs |36 carried by each of the supporting brackets |04, |05 and |06, whereby each nozzle may be conveniently lifted from its position between the channel for inspection or adjustment. That portion of the nozzle arms immediately in front of the pivotal connection rests upon the supporting ways 40 and 4| and thereby limits the downward movement of the nozzle. Each arm comprises two parts which are tied together by means of a bridging member |31.

The rear wall links 53, 54, 55 and 55 are each provided with a hub |40 which is pivotally mounted upon the rear link shaft 2| and kept in definite spaced relation with each other by means of lock collars |4|.

As hereinbefore 'pointed out, by means of my road marking machine I am able to paint a broken line and to so adjust the machine as to change the length of the line or the cycle thereof. Furthermore, by means of my device I may change at will from a broken line to a solid line. In order to accomplish this I provide distributing units |42, |43 and |44, respectively, for each group of walls and associated paint nozzle.

As shown in Fig. 6, each of these distributing units comprises a casing |45 having a manifold. chamber |46 formed in its lower portion, such chamber being connected to a suitable source of valve-controlled air supply (to be hereinafter described) through the inlet connection |50. The casing has screwthreaded thereto a nozzle outlet connection |5| which communicates with a nozzle outlet passageway |52 which is brought into communication with the manifold chamber 46 by means of an outlet valve |53. This valve is carried by a valve rod |54 which is pushed inwardly to unseat the Valve at predetermined intervals, as hereinafter described. A wall outlet passageway |55 is formed in the body of the valve and is brought into communication with the manifold chamber |40 by means of the wall outlet valve |56 which is controlled by means of a valve rod |51 to be hereinafter described. The upper end of the wall outlet passageway |55 is in open communication with an outlet chamber |60 into which a wall outlet connection i3! extends. This, wall outlet connection is suitably attached to its associated wall operating cylinder by means to be hereinafter described. The body isr provided with an exhaust passageway |62 which is brought into communictaion with the outlet chamber |00 by means of an exhaust valve |33 which is operated, as hereinafter described, by means of the valve rod |64. By means of the exhaust valve |63 air contained in the outlet chamber |60 may be exhausted to the atmosphere through the port |62. Valves |53, |55 and |53 are normally urged toward their seats by lmeans of a helicalspring |53 mounted upon the rod of each valve.

Arranged at one side of the casing |45 of the distributing unit is a valve arm |35 which is pivotally mounted near its central portion upon a pin |65 carried by the casing, The lower end of this valve carries a roller which is actuated by a cam to be 4hereinafter. described. The lower end of the arm |65 carries adj fr screws and 82 which coact, respectively, with the valve rods |51 and |54. These screws may be adjusted so as to vary the opening of the respective valves |50 and |53. The arm 5535 also carries an adjusting screw |33 at a point above its pivotal connection and this screw coacts with the valve rod |04 of the exhaust valve |63 to operate the same when the arm is in the position shown in Fig. 6. The casing |45 of the distributing unit is also formed in its upper end with a stripe control cylinder |84 which has a piston |35 carrying a piston rod |36. The forward end of the rod extends beyond the casing and is registerable with the upper end of the valve arm |55. An air supply connection |95) is screw-threaded into the casing and serves to conduct air under pressure to the cylinder |854 to cause the rod to move outwardly, thus moving the valve arm to such a position where the roller il will be moved out of reach of the cam |89 which is thereby rendered inoperative. The valve arm is maintained normally in the position shown in Fig. 6 by means of a helical spring IS! which has one end secured to the arm and the opposite end to la lug |92 carried by the body |135.

Arranged at the forward end of my device is a cam shaft |93 upon which the cams Hit are mounted, there being one cam for each of the valve arms |65 of the distributing units |42, |133 and |44. Each of these cams is provided with a dwell surface |94 and with an actuating surface |95 of suitable shape to produce the desired actuation of the valve arm It. Each of these cams is preferably made of two plates |86 each formed with a similar surface contour and each is adjustably mounted upon the cam shaft and locked in place by means of a nut 253) at each end of the shaft whereby the parts may be locked together lafter adjustment. By means of relative rotation of the tvvo cam parts, the length of the actuating surface |95 may be increased so as to paint a longer line.

The rotation of the cam shaft |93 bears a denite relation to the lineal movement of my device over the pavement and must be rotated with accuracy in order that the cycle of the striping of a broken line may be accurately adjusted and maintained. To accomplish this I provide a driving wheel 26|. A sprocket wheel |91 carried by this driving wheel is connected by means of a sprocket chain 262 to a sprocket wheel 293 carried by a gear reduction 2M of any suitable type. The sprocket wheel 293 is connested through the gearing of the gear reduction 2M to the cam shaft I 93. Arranged on the side of the device opposite the driving wheel 2G| is another wheel 255 which, together with the driving wheel, serves to support the device. Each of these wheels is preferably carried, respectively, by the side plates Il and |65 in suitable bearings. vided with a pneumatic tire and the cycle of a broken line may be varied somewhat by changing the effective diameter thereof by inflation or deflation. K

In order to supply air to each of the distributing units I provide an air control valve 2i|5 and a stripe control valve 2H). The air control valve is provided with an inlet connection 2|| and with an outlet connection 2li?. It is also provided with an exhaust connection Zit. The plug 2M of the valve is rotated by a suitable handle 2|5 and, in the position shown, the port 2|6 is in its closed position. The valve is provided with an exhaust port 2253 which communicates with the exhaust connection 2|3 when the valve is in the position shown. When, however, the plug 2|@ is rotated to open the valve, the passageway 2|@ will connect the supply pipe 22| coming from any suitable source of air pressure Each of these wheels is preferably prol* through the connection 2|! to the connection 2| 2.

In the drawings, and particularly in Figs. l and 5, I have not shown any hose connections between the various parts but, for clearness of illustration, have merely shown lines representing such connections, In Fig. 1 I have shown the air control valve 255 and the stripe control valve 2MB as being connected to the distributing unit Hifi which is the unit that controls the movement of the walls d2 and i3 through the selective operation of the link actuating lever 92. In Fig. 1, the outlet connection 2|2 of the air control valve 2% is connected to the inlet ccnnection |55 of the distributing unit H54 by means of a hose line 222. The air pressure connection |33 of the associated nozzle |3| is connected to the nozzle outlet connection |5| by means of a hose line 223. The wall outlet connection itl of the unit is connectedL to a branch fitting 224 by means of a hose line 232 by which air under pressure is conducted to the cylinder inlet con-- nection |34 of the nozzle by means of a hose line 225. The tting 224 is valso connected to the connection H3 of the wall cylinder IGS by means of a hose line 225. The tting 22d is also connected to the exhaust connection Zit of the air control valve 2% by means of a hose line 23B. By means of the exhaust connection 2|3 of the air control valve, the air contained within the hose lines 232, 226 and 225 is exhausted to the atmosphere through the hose line 2353 and the exhaust ports Eil and 23| of the valve.

When the machine is to be used for an intermittent or broken line, the air control valve 236 is moved so that air from the air supply line 22| will be conducted from connection 2| through port 2|-6 in the plug of the valve to the connection 2|2, through hose line 222 to the connection |59 of the distributing unit, thus supplying the manifold chamber Dit with air under pressure. As the device is now drawn across the pavement, the driving wheel 23| will cause the cam shaft m3 to be rotated. As the actuating surface |535 of the cam is brought in contact with the roller im, thev valve arm let will be oscillat-ed in clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 1 and 6 and the exhaust valve it will be closed as the wall actuating valve |55 and nozzle valve |53 are opened. Air under pressure will thereby be conducted from the manifold chamber through the wall outlet passageway |55 to the wall outlet connection |5| through the outlet chamber |553. Mr will thus pass from the connection ll through air lines 232 and to the nozzle cylinder inlet connection |36. Air will also pass under pressure from the manifold chamber Mt to the nozzle outlet passageway |52 and thence through outlet nozzle connection 5| and hose line 223 to the nozzle air inlet connection |33 of nozzle |3|. When air is supplied to the hose line 225 through the fitting 22|?. it will also be supplied 4to the hose line 1226 and thereby conducted to the wall cylinder ict? by means of the connection H3, as hereinbefore stated. The operation of this cylinder will cause the link actuating lever S2 to lower the pair of walls i2 and d3 through. the medium of the cross bar 95, the link arms 82 and 8, and the front wall links 5| and 52. For clearness, I have described the operation of but one pair of walls and the associated parts for illustrative purposes, and it is obvious that each pair of walls and its paint nozzle has its own distributing unit and control valves which are operated as just above described.

While I have just described the operation of my device for applying but a single line of paint, it is obvious that where a double broken line is to be applied to the pavement, two adjacent unit groups will be used and the particularair control valves 206 for controlling such groups of units will be operated. It is desirable that the walls be moved to their road engaging positions before paint is sprayed by the nozzles and, to accomplish this, the Wall retaining springs are so adjusted in relation to the springs of the nozzles that considerably less pressure is required to operate the coacting wall cylinder than to operate the cylinder in the nozzle, whereby the walls are in their road engaging positions before the cylinder of the nozzle is raised to open the paint valve.

When it is desired to paint a solid line for any given distance, the stripe control valve v2|0 is operated. This valve receives its source of air supply through its inlet connection 233 by a hose line 234, and its outlet connection 235 is connected by means of a hose line 236 to the air supply connection |90 of the stripe control cylinder |84 of the distributing unit |44. The piston of this cylinder will be moved forwardly under the pressure of the air, thereby causing the plunger |86 thereof to oscillate the valve arm |65 to a position Where it will open the wall inlet valve |56 and nozzle outlet valve |53 and these valves Will thereby be held open irrespective oi the position and rotation of the cam |80 as long as the stripe control valve is in its open position. When the end of the solid line has been reached, the stripe control valve is closed and a suitable passageway, shown in dotted lines, will bring the hose line 236 in communication with the exhaust passageway 240 whereby air from the cylinder |84 will be exhausted and the spring |9| will bring the valve arm |65 back to its position where the valves |56 and |53 are closed except in the event that the stripe control valve is closed at such time as the acting surface |95 of the cam is opposite the roller |10, in which event the solid line will continue until the cam has been rotated to the inactive or dwell surface |94. When this conditi-on does occur and it is desired to stop the solid line before the valves can be closed by rotation of the cam, the air control valve 6 is also closed, thereby causing the supply of air to the distributing unit to be out 01T and all of the air lines to be exhausted to the atmosphere whereby the spray nozzle will be immediately stopped and the coacting walls raised from contact with the pavement. When it is now desired to paint a broken line the cam is again brought into action by opening the air control valve 206, whereby the operation will continue as hereinbefore described. When again starting the broken line, if the cam is not in the proper position to cause the line to register with the place where the broken line should start, the entire painting device may be raised by means of a flexible cable 24|, one end of which is connected to the device preferably by being attached to the rear link shaft 2| and the opposite end of which is connected to a lever 242 within reach of an operator. Obviously the pushmobile is moved to the position where it is desired to start the painting and if the painting mechanism of my device is not in proper position of registration the device may be elevated and the driving wheel may be rotated by hand until 75 the selected cam is in the proper position whereby the device may be lowered onto the pavement and brought into operation by the forward movement of the machine.

4In some localities it is desirable to use two colors upon Ithe pavement, used either separately or together, and it is desirable to change quickly from one color to the other without having to rearrange the nozzles, paint or air connections thereto. For this purpose I have provided a two color control valve, shown in Figs. 5, 7, 8 and 9, whereby one distributing unit with its coacting parts may be disconnected from the air supply and the air contained in such parts and the connecting hose lines vented to the atmosphere, and at the same time placing the distributing unit handling the other color into service. It is, of course, necessary that a separate distributing valve, a separate wall cylinder, and a separate nozzle be provided vfor each color and each paint channel.

In Fig. 5, which is largely diagrammatic, I show a valve 243 and two separate distributing units 244 and 245, one for each of the two colors for which the apparatus of Fig. 5 is designed. The distributing units 244 and 245 control, respectively, spray nozzles 246 and 250. These distributing units are of the same design as the distributing unit |45 shown in detail in Fig. 6. In Fig, 5, for convenience of illustration, I have omitted the showing of the walls but have shown one link actuating lever 253 in fragmentary manner. This lever is provided with a pad 254 which extends across the plungers 255 and 256 of the two wall cylinders 25| and 252, respectively, provided one for each color.

The control valve for use with a two color machine comprises preferably a stator part 260 and a rotor part 26|. The stator part 260 is provided with an enlarged base 262 which is stationarily arranged in suitable position and within easy control of an operator of the pushmobile shown in Fig. l0 or the truck shown in Fig. 11. The rotor 26| is provided with a tapered .bore which fits over the plug portion 263 of the stator member. vThe joint between these two parts is of course close fitting so as to seal the valve. The plug of the stator is provided with a centrally arranged inlet passageway 254 which extends from the upper end thereof down into the plug a considerable distance, the upper end of the passageway being scewthreaded for the reception of an air supply connection 265, The bottom of this passageway 264 terminates at a lateral passageway 266 extending outwardly to the surface of the plug. The stator is provided with ports 210 and 21| which are arranged at an angle with each other and registerable with the lateral port 266 by rotation of the rotor member 26|. A suitable handle 212 is provided upon the stator whereby the same may be manipulated. Connected to the ports 210 and 21| are outlet connections 213 and 214, respectively, which are suitably connected to the various parts of the structure as hereinafter described.

The stator member is provided in its base 262 with screwthreaded exhaust connections 215 and 216. Passageways 280 and 28| extend upwardly from each of the connections 215 and 216, respectively, and terminate at their upper ends in lateral passageways 232 and 283, rIhese passageways are converged toward each other somewhat, as shown in Fig. 8, and the rotor part 26| of the valve is provided with an arcuate slot 284 which exposes both of the passageways 282 and 283 when the valve is in neutral position, as shown in the drawings. Two pairs oi stop surfaces 235 and 235 may be provided on the rotor and stator parts Zlil and 252 if desired for limiting the rotative movement to a predetermined amount.

As hereinbefore stated, a separate distributing unit must be used for each color paint nozzle employed and, for convenience of illustration, I haveshown two nozzles in Fig. 5. Thereore, two associated distributing units 2M and 26.15 are shown. Since white and yellow are colors usually used in road striping, I will refer to the distributing unit 22s and its associ-ated nozzle 245 as having to do with, for instance, the white color and the distributing unit 2&5 and associated nozzle 254i as having to do with the other color, for instance, the yellow. As shown in Fig. 5, the inlet connection 229 of the distributing unit 25d controlling the white paint is connected to the connection 2l3 of the valve by mea-nsof a hose line 2M, and the supply connection 222 of the distributing unit 225, controlling the yellow paint, is likewise connected to the connector 276i of the valve by means of a hose line 223. Air is supplied to the valve through the connection 2%5 by means of a supply line 296. Thus by rotating the rotor 2M of the valve, air may be supplied to either the distributing unit 2G12 or the distributing unit When the air is changed from one distributing unit to the other through the connections 223 and 2li, the distributing unit which is cut oli will be exhausted to the atmosphere through the valve and connections as hereinafter described. The exhaust connection Z'l of the valve is connected to the wall outlet connection 225 of the unit 2M by means of a pipe line 2%, and the exhaust connection 2l5 of the valve is connected to the wall inlet connection 3S@ of the unit 225 by means of a p-ipe line 3M As hereinbefore pointed out, provide spray nozzles 2li@ and 223 and wall actuating cylinders 25d and 252 for each of the distributing units 2id and 245, respectively, which are controlled by the two color control valve and cam rue-chanism of the units. The cylinder connection 362 of the nozzle 2% is connected to a branch connection 393 in the air line 2% by means of an air line 324, and the wall actuating cylinder 25! is also connected to the branch tting S by means of an air line 365. In similar manner, the air inlet connection 366 of the nozzle 256 is connected to the nozzle outlet connection alii of the distributing unit 222 by means of a pipe line 3i E. In similar manner, the air cylinder connection 3i2 oi the nozzle 222 is connected t0 the branch connection l in the air line 325 by means of' a hose line 35d. The nozzle outlet connection 3l5 of the distributing unit 2% is connected to the air nozzle connection 356 of the nozzle 253 by means of a hose line 32e?. 'The wall cylinder 252 is connected to the branch fitting Sli by means of a hose line 32E.

Where two or more nozzles are employed, each handling a different color, as just above described, it is necessary to provide a stripe control valve 322 ior temporarily discontinuing the automatic cam action upon the valves of either distributing unit. This valve is similar in function to the stripe control valve 2li) and it receives its supply of air from the main air supply line 323 through a branch pipe 32d. The outlet line 325 from this valve is connected to the air supply connection 326 of the unit 2616i by means of a hose line 32Bit The air supply connection 331 of the distributing unit is connected by means of a hose line 332 to a branch connection 333 in the outlet line 325. If desired, one of the Valves 322 may be provided for each of the distributing units, but one valve is sufcient since the actuation of the stripe control cylinder in either of the distributing units will not become effective unless that distributing unit has been supplied with air under pressure through the two-color control valve 223. The valve 322 is provided. with a vent 334 whereby air in either of the lines 33D or 332, and their connected stripe control cylinders will be exhausted to the atmosphere when the supply of air to such cylinders is cut off by this valve.

With the parts of the device shown and described in connection with Fig. 5, all of the air in the air cylinders is exhausted and there is no pressure in any of the lines. When, for instance, it is desired to spray white paint through the nozzle 2467 the two-color control valve 243 will be operated so as to bring the lateral passageway 2535 in registration with the outlet fitting 213 whereby air from the supply 323 -will pass through air line 292 to the inlet connection 265. Air will thus pass through the hose line 2| to the inlet connection Eil, thereby supplying air to the distributing unit 242, in a manner similar to the supply of air to the distributing unit i555, hereinbefore described. If an intermittent or roken line is to be placed upon the pavement, the stripe control cylinder 297 and 253 of each distributing unit 2M and 245, respectively, will be inactive and the cams E83 will cause the cam arms 335 of both distributing units to be oscilla-ted. Since air is being supplied to the wall outlet cylinder 25| through the hose line 335 and branch tti-ng 393, the wall cylinder will operate the link actuating lever 253, thereby causing the walls controlled thereby to be lowered to form the paint channel. Simultaneously with the lowering of he walls, the cylinder of the nozzle 24S will be elevated, thus opening the paint supply coming through hose line 335 which is connected to the paint inlet 34! of the nozzle. Air to spray the paint will also be conducted through the hose line 3H to the inlet SGS of this nozzle. As soon as the surface or dwell i911 of the cam is opposite the roller of the arm 335 the air to the various cylinders and the nozzle will be shut on" and the vent 322 will allow air contained in all of these various hose lines and connected parts to be vented to the atmosphere through the operation of the vent valve (not shown) in the unit. Obviously, as described in connect-ion with the control unit M5 of the other form of device, when it is desired to p-aint a solid line of the color just described, the two-color control valve 223 will be allowed to remain in the position to which it has been operated and the stripe control valve 322 actuated to allow air under pressure to pass to the stripe control cylinder Ztl of the distributing unit 2M. whereby the arm 335 of this unit will be held in such position to allow air to pass uninterrupted to the wall cylinder 25! and to the spray nozzle 2%. During the time the outlet connection 273 is in communication with the air supply, the exhaustl portsA 28| and 263 have been closed by the rotation of the valve rotor member 2a`l and air therefor contained in the hose line 295 will not be exhausted. However, any air which has been contained in the line 3M by reason of a, previous operation ofl the distributing unit 2&5 and associated parts will be exhausted` to thev atmosphere for the reason that the exhaust ports 2S@ and 232 of the Valve are open to the atmosphere by and through the arcuate slot 234.

When it is now desired to change from one color to the other, the rotor member 26! of the two-color control valve is moved so as to bring the outlet 214 in communication with the inlet passages 254 and 266 and air will thus be oonducted through the hose line 293 to the distributing unit 245, thus placing this distributing unit under pressure and ready tc distribute air to the various associated parts. Obviously, when the two-color control valve is moved to the position where it energizes the distributing unit 245, the distributing unit 244 is cut off and the air contained in this unit and its associated parts will be exhausted to the atmosphere through exhaust passageways 231 and 283. The air in distributing unit 245 is now supplied to the various coacting parts of the device as just described in connection with the operation of the distributing unit 244, thereby energizing the wall cylinder 252 and the nozzle 253, thereby allowing paint to flow through the hose 331 to this nozzle through the paint inlet 34! of this valve. With the distributing valve 265 energized, the wall cylinder 252 and nozzle 250 will be actuated in periodic manner except in the case where a solid line is desired when the valve 322 will be actuated to produce the results described in connection with the operation of the distributing unit 244. This unit 245 is provided with a vent 342 which acts in a manner similar to the vent 341] of the unit 244 to vent the cylinders and air lines when the line is interrupted by the rotation of the cam.

While I have described the operation of a single group of two-color parts for but one paint channel, it is to be understood that each paint channel of the device is also provided with a separate group of parts.

My device is of such a nature that it may be placed upon a pushmcbile like that shown in Fig. 1G. Such a pushmobile comprises a chassis 343 having rear supporting wheels 344 at its rear end and front supporting wheels 345 at its forward end for steering the vehicle. The iront wheels are controlled by a steering arm 34S within easy reach of an operator of the pushmobile. A steering boom 350 is carried at the forward end to guide the steering of the device along a predetermined path. An operator sits upon a seat 35i and in front of him is a support 352 on which is mounted either the air control valve 256 of Fig. l or the two-color air control valve 243 of Fig. 5. Either of the stripe-control valves 2li] or 322 are also mounted within easy reach of the operator. Obviously the paint and air are supplied frorn a suitable source carried by the truck which pushes the pushmobile and which is conducted to the pushmobile through the air line 353 and through the paint line 354.

In Fig. l1, as hereinbefore pointed out, I have shown my device attached to the rear of a truck 355. As is customary, a suitable platform or support 356 is attached to the rear of the truck and carries a control standard 365. The control standard has means for carrying the valves 206 and ZID or valves 243 and 322 and also carries the bracket 35 'and a ball stem 33, as hereinbe- I vice shown being merely the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to denne paint channels therebetween, paint applying means carried by said frame and arranged between each two adjacent walls, rear wall links and front wall links pivotally connected to said walls, the free end of each of said rear Wall links being mounted upon a rear wall shaft, the free end of each of said front Wall links being pivotally mounted upon a front link shaft, said rear and front link shafts being supported by said frame, a link actuating lever pivotally carried by said front wall shaft and mounted between the front links of each pair of paint walls, means carried by each lever for actuating one pair of adjacent walls, and means for selectively moving said link actuating levers.

2. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to define paint channels therebetween, paint applying means carried by said frame and arranged between each two adjacent walls, rear wall links and front wall links pivotally connected to said walls, the free end of each of said rear wall links being pivotally mounted upon a rear wall shaft, the free end of each of said front wall links being pivotally mounted upon a front link shaft, said rear and front link shafts being supported by said frame, a link actuating lever pivotally carried by said front link shaft and mounted between the front links of each pair of walls, means carried by each lever for actuating one pair oi adjacent walls, and means for selectively operating any number of'said actuating levers and their associated paint applying means in timed relation to each other.

3. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to define paint channels therebetween, paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, links for pivotally connecting said paint walls to said frame, actuating means for selectively operating any desired number of pairs of Walls to move them to road engaging positions, means for returning said walls to their elevated positions, distributing units for controlling the wall actuating means and the paint applying means, and means for selectively operating the distributing units.

4. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to define paint channels therebetween, pneumatically operated paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, links for pivotally connecting said paint walls to said frame, actuating means for selectively operating any desired number of pairs of Wallsto move them to road engaging positions, means for returning said walls to their elevated positions, pneumatic means for controlling said wall actuating means, distributing units for controlling said pneumatic means and said pneumatically operated means, a control valve for supplying air to each of the distributing units, and means for operating said distributing units.

5. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to dene paint channels therebetween, pneumatically operated paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, links for pivotally connecting said paint walls to said frame, actuating means for selectively operating any desired number of pairs of walls to move them to road engaging positions, means for returning said walls to their elevated positions, pneumatic means for controlling said wall actuating means, distributing units for controlling said pneumatic means and said pneumatically operated means, a control valve for supplying air from a suitable source to each distributing unit, an actuating cam for each distributing unit, and means contacting with the surface of the road for causing the cams to be operated, whereby a number of broken lines of predetermined cycle may be applied to the road. 6. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to define paint channels therebetween, pneumatically operated paint applyinfT means arranged between each two adjacent walls, links for pivotally connecting said paint walls to said frame, actuating means for selectively operating any desired number of pairs of walls to move them to road engaging positions, means for returning said walls to their elevated positions, pneumatic means for controlling said wall actuating means, distributing units for controlling said pneumatic means and said pneumatically operated means, a control valve for supplying air from a suitable source to each distributing unit, an actuating cam for each distributing unit, means contacting with the surface cf the road for causing the cams to be operated, and means for temporarily interrupting the action of the actuating cams, whereby a solid line of desired length may be applied to the road.

7. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to define paint channels therebetween, pneumatically operated paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, links for pivotally connecting said paint walls to said frame, actuating means for tively operating any desired number of pairs of walls to move them to road engaging positions, means for returning said walls to their elevated positions, pneumatic means for controlling said wall actuating means, distributing units for controlling said pneumatic means and said pneumatically operated means, a contro-l valve for supplying air from a suitable source to each dis-- tributing unit, an actuating cam for each distributing means contacting with the surface of the road for causing the cams to be operated, a stripe control cylinder carried by each distributing unit, and a stripe control valve for governing the operation oi said cylinder, whereby the action of the actuating cams may be temporarily interrupted.

8. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to define paint channels therebetween, pneumatically operated paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, front and rear wall links pivotally connected to said walls for movably suspending the same to maintain substantial parallel relationship with the surface of the road, the. free end of said front and rear wall links being pivotally carried by said frame, each of said front wall links having a link arm, a link actuating lever arranged between each pair of front links, each of said levers being pivotally carried by the frame, a cross bar carried by each lever for coaction with the adjacent link arm on each side of said lever for selecting the desired pair of walls, pneumatic means for controlling the operation of each of said actuatinfJV levers, and means for controlling said pneumatic means.

9. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to define paint channels therebetween, pneumatically operated paint applying means arrangedbetween each two adjacent walls, front and rear wall links pivotally connected to said walls for movably suspending the same to maintain substantial parallel relationship with the surface of the road, the free end of said front and rear wall links being pivotally carried by said frame, each of said front wall links having a link arm, a, link actuating lever arranged between each pair of front links, each of said levers being pivotally carried by the frame, a cross bar carried by each lever for coaction with the adjacent link arm on each side of said lever for selecting the desired pair of walls, pneumatic means for controlling the operation of each of said actuating levers, operating means for controlling said pneumatic means and said paint means in timed relation, and means for automatically and periodically interrupting said operating means, whereby a broken line will be applied to the road.

lil. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to denne paint channels therebetween, pneumatically operated paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, front and rear wall links pivotally connected to said walls for movably suspending the same to maintain substantial parallel relationship with the surface of the road, the tree end of said front and rear wall links being pivotally carried by said frame, each o1 said front wall links having a link arm, a link actuating lever arranged between each pair of front links, each of said levers being pivotally carried by the frame, a cross bar carried by each lever for coaction with the adjacent link arm on each side of said lever for selecting the desired pair of walls, pneumatic means for controlling the operation of each of said actuating levers, operating means for controlling said pneumatic means and said paint means in timed relation, means for automatically and periodically interrupting said operating means, and manually controlled means for temporarily rendering said automatic means inoperative, whereby an unbroken line will be applied to the road.

11. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to define paint channels therebetween, pneumatically operated paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, front and rear wall links pivotally connected to said walls for movably suspending the same to maintain substantial parallel relationship with the surface of the road, the free ends of said rear wall links being pivotally mounted upon a rear wall shaft and the free ends of said front wall links being pivotally mounted upon a front wall shaft, each of said front wall links having an upstanding link arm, a link actuating lever pivotally mounted upon the front link shaft between each pair of front wall links, a cross bar carried by each lever for coaction with the adj acent link arm on each side of said lever for selecting the desired pair of walls, pneumatic means for controlling the operation of each of said actuating levers, a distributing unit for each pair of Walls, a control valve for selectively supplying air under pressure to either distributing unit, and means for actuating said distributing unit.

l2. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality ofn walls for defining paint channels therebetween, a pneumatically operated paint nozzle arranged between each two adjacent walls, links for pivotally connecting said paint walls to said frame, actuating means for selectively operating any `desired number of pairs of walls to move them to road engaging positions, means for returning said walls to their inoperative positions, pneumatic means for controlling said wall actuating means, a distributing unit for `each of said Wall actuating means and said paint ating means, and means for actuating said cam in timed relation with the movement of the machine.

13. A road marking machine comprising a iframe,` a plurality of walls for defining paint channels therebetween, a pneumatically operated paint nozzle arranged between each two adjacent walls, links for pivotally connecting said paint walls tosaid frame, actuating means for selectively operating any desired number of pairs of walls to move them to road engaging positions, means for returning said walls to their inoperative positions, pneumatic means for controlling said wall actuating means, a distributing ,unit for each of said Wall actuating means and said paint nozzle, comprising a wall outlet valve -and a nozzle outlet valve for distributing air under-pressure to the wall actuating pneumatic means and the nozzle actuating pneumatic means,- an exhaust valve, cam means for periodically-closing said `exhaust valve and opening said wall actuating valve and said nozzle valve to cause air to flow to the wall actuating means and paint actuating means, means for actuating said cam in timed relation with the movement of the machine, a stripe control cylinder, and a control valve connecting the source of air under pressure to said cylinder to temporarily interrupt the action of the cam for holding the wall outlet valve and the nozzle outlet valve open, whereby a continuous line will be applied to the road.

14. A road marking machine comprising a iframe, a pair of Walls movably supported by said frame for defining a paint channel, a plurality of rpaint applying devices mounted between said walls'for applying diierent colored paints, a distributing unit for each paint applying device,

,a wall-cylinderA controlled by each distributing wherebywhen air is supplied to the distributing unit for 'applying one color through the associated paint applying device, air in the other distributing unit and its associated parts will be `exhausted to the atmosphere.

15. A road marking machine ciomprising a frame, a pair of walls movably supported by said frame for defining a paint channel, a plurality of paint applying devices mounted between said walls for applying different colored paints, a distributing unit for each paint applying device, a wall cylinder controlled by each distributing unit rfor moving said walls into operative relation with the surface of the road, means connecting each distributing unit with its associated paint applying device, and an air control valve, comprising a stator part and a rotor part, said stator part being formed with a centrally arranged inlet passageway yand said rotor part being formed with spaced, registerable outlet ports for connection one to each of said distributing units, said stator part having exhaust passageways opening into a slot formed in the stator, each of said exhaust passageways being connected to one of said distributing units, the slot of said stator being so proportioned and positioned that when air is supplied to one of the distributing units, the exhaust passageway connected to that particular unit `will be closed.

1G. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a pair of walls movably supported by said frame for defining a paint channel, a plurality of paint applying devices mounted between said walls for applying different colored paints, a distributing unit for each paint applying device, a wall cylinder controlled by each distributing unit for moving said walls into operative relation with the surface of the road, means connecting each distributing unit with its associated paint applying device, cam means for intermittently supplying air through either distributing unit to the associated paint applying device and wall actuating cylinder, and an air control valve, said valve being provided with separate means for connecting a source of air to each distributing unit and also being formed with an exhaust passageway for each distributing unit, whereby when air is supplied to the distributing unit for applying one color through the associated paint applying device, air in the other distributing unit and its associated parts will be exhausted to the atmosphere.

17. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a pair of walls movably supported by said frame for defining a paint channel, a plurality of paint |applying devices mounted between said walls for applying different colored paints, a distributing unit for each paint applying device, means controlled by each distributing unit for moving said walls into operative relation with the surface of the road, means connecting each distributing unit with its associated paint applying device, and an air control valve, said valve being provided with separate means for connecting a source of air to each distributing unit and also being formed with an exhaust passageway for each distributing unit, whereby when air is supplied to the distributing unit for applying one color through the associated paint applying device, air in the other distributing unit and its associated parts will be exhausted to the atmosphere.

18. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a pair of walls movably supported by said frame for defining a paint channel, a plurality of paint applying devices mounted between said walls for applying different colored paints, a distributing unit for each paint applying device, means controlled by each distributing unit for moving said walls into operative relation with the surface of the road, means connecting each distributing unit with its associated paint applying device, and an air control valve, comprising a stator part and a rotor part, said stator part being formed with a centrally arranged inlet passageway and said rotor part being formed with spaced, registerable outlet ports for connection one to each of said distributing units, said stator part having exhaust passageways opening into a slot formed in the stator, each of said exhaust passageways being connected to one of said distributing units, the slot of said stator being so proportioned and positioned that when air is supplied to one of the distributing units, the exhaust passageway connected tothatvparticular unit will be closed.

19. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a pair of walls movably supported by said frame for defining a paint channel, a plurality of paint applying devices mounted between said walls for applying different colored paints, a distributing unit for each paint applying device, a wall cylinder controlled by each distributing unit for moving said walls into operative relation with the surface of the road, means connecting each distributing unit with its associated paint applying device, cam means for intermittently supplying air through either distributing unit to the associated paintY applying device and wall actuating cylinder, a stripe control cylinder carried by each distributing unit, stripe control valve means for connecting a source of air supply to said stripe control cylinders to temporarily interrupt the action of the cam means, and an air control valve, said valve being provided with separate means for connecting a source of air to each distributing unit and also being formed with an exhaust passageway for each distributing unit, whereby when air is supplied to the distributing unit for applying one color through the associated paint applying device, air in the other distributing unit and its assocated parts will be exhausted to the atmosphere.

20. A road marking machine including walls spaced to define a paint channel therebetween,

paint applying means arranged between said walls, front and rear wall links pivotally attached to the ends of said walls for movably suspending the same in substantially parallel relationship to the surface of the road, means for normally holding said walls in elevated positions, means for moving said walls to road engaging positions, each of said front wall links comprising an operating part pivotally attached to the machine and a free part pivotally attached to the wall, a link pivot uniting said parts so as to permit relativerotative movement thereof, and centralizing means for resiliently holding said parts in yieldable alignment, whereby said walls are free to float and will tilt to any position necessary when passing over a foreign object.

21. A road marking machine including walls spaced to denne a paint channel therebetween, paint applying means arranged between said walls, front and rear wall links pivotally attached to the ends of said walls for movably suspending the same in substantially parallel relationship to the surface of the road, means for normally holding said walls in elevated positions, means for moving said walls to road engaging positions, each of said front wall links comprising an operating part pivotallyY attached to the machine and a free part pivotally attached to the wall, a link pivot uniting said parts so as to permit relative rotative movement thereof, a centralizing arm carried by each of said free parts, and a centralizing spring for keeping said parts in yieldable alignment whereby said walls are free to float and will tilt to any position necessary when passing over a foreign object.

22. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of Walls, spaced to denne a paint channel therebetween and arranged to be moved in pairs, paint applying means carried by said frame and arranged between each two adjacent walls, a rear wall shaft, a front wall shaft, f

Cil

said shafts being carried by said frame, rear wall links and front wall links pivotally connected to said walls, the free end of each of said rear wall links being pivotally mounted upon said rear wall shaft, the free end of each of said front Wall links being pivotally mounted upon said iront link shaft, and means carried by said front link shaft for selectively moving any number of pairs of adjacent walls.

23. A road marking machine including a plurality of paint confining walls arranged adjacent each other and interspaced to define paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls so as to maintain the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with thevsurface of the road, each of said walls being independently suspended so as to be capable of movement in pairs, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, means for normally holding said walls in their elevated positions for independent movement, and independently actuated means for selecting and moving any two adjacent Walls as a pair to road engaging positions. A

24. A road marking machine including paint confining walls spaced to dene a paint channel therebetween, paint applying means arranged between said walls, a link pivotally connected to each end of each wall for movably suspending said walls in substantially parallel Vrelationship to the surface of the road, means engageable with one of said links for normally holding said walls in their elevated positions, means engag'eable with one of the links of each wall for moving said walls to road engaging positions, and means associated with one of said links of each wall and operable independently of the wall moving means for permitting said wall to move upwardly from road engaging position independently `of the wall moving means.

25. A road marking machine including a plurality of paint confining walls arranged adjacent each other and interspaced `to define paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls so as to maintain the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with the surface ofthe road, each of said walls being independently suspended so as to be capable of movement in pairs, means for normally holding said walls in their elevated positions for independent movement, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between each pair of walls, `operating means for said paint applying means, and manually actuated unit means for controlling said independently actuated means and said operating means in timed relation with each other.

26. A road marking machine including a plurality of paint confining wallsarranged adjacent each other and interspaced to define paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls so asA to maintain the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with the surface of the road, each of said walls being independently suspended so as to be capable of movement in pairs, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls," means for normally holding said walls in their elevated positions for independent movement, means for operating said paint applying means, and independently actuated means for selecting and moving any two adjacent walls as a pair to road engaging positions in sequential relation to said paint applying means.

27. A road marking machine including a plurality of paint confining walls arranged adjacent each other and interspaced to define paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls so as to maintain the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with the surface of the road, each of said walls being independently suspendled so as to be capable of movement in pairs,

pressure `higher than said actuating means,

whereby the selected pair of walls will be moved before said paintA applying means is operated, and manually actuated unit means for controlling said actuating means and said operating 28. A road marking machine including a plurality of paint confining walls arranged adjacent each other and interspaced to define paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls so as to maintain the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with the surface of the road, each of said walls being independently suspended so as to be capable of movement in pairs, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, pneumatic actuating means for moving said walls to road engaging positions, pneumatic operating means for said paint applying means, said operating means being supplied with fluid under pressure from the same source and working at a pressure higher than said actuating means, whereby the selected pair of walls will be moved before said paint applying means is operated, and a control Valve for actuating said last two mentioned pneumatic means.

29. A road marking machine including paint confining walls interspaced to define a paint channel therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls independently of the other walls and for independent vertical movement to road engaging and elevated positions, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between said walls, means for normally holding said walls in their elevated positions, autmatic means for periodically moving and holding said walls to and in road engaging positions when paint is to be intermittently applied to the surface of the road in the channel defined by the walls, and means associated with said suspending means for permitting individual upward movement of said walls from road engaging positions independently of said moving and holding means.

30. A road marking machine including paint confining walls interspaced to define a paint channel therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls independently of the other walls and for independent vertical movement to road engaging and elevated positions, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between said walls, means for normally holding said walls in their elevated positions, actuating means for moving and holding said walls to and in road engagng positions and for opening said paint applying means after said-walls vhave reached such positions, automatic means for controlling the operation of said actuating means at predetermined spaced intervals of time, and means associated with said suspending means for permitting upward movement of said Walls from road engaging positions independently of said moving and holding means.

31. A road marking machine including a plurality of paint confining walls arranged adjacent-each other and interspaced to define paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls so as to maintain the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with the surface of the road, each of said walls being independently suspended so as to be capable of movement in pairs, normally stationary paint applying'means arranged between each two adjacent walls, and means for selectively moving said walls in pairs.

32.V A road marking machine including a plurality of paint confining walls arranged. adjacent each other and interspaced to dei-lne paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said Walls so as to maintain-the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with the surface of the road, each of said walls being independently suspended so as to be capable of movement in pairs, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, means for selectively moving said walls in pairs, and means for opening said paint applying means after the movement of said walls to road engaging positions.

33. A road marking machine including a plurality of paint confining walls arranged adjacent each other and interspaced to dene paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls so as to maintain the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with the surface of the road, each of said walls being independently suspended so as to be capable of movement in pairs, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, and pneumatically operated means for selectively moving the desired number of pairs of walls and for opening their associated paint applying means, said operating means being supplied with fluid under pressure from the same source and working at a lower fiuid pressure than that of said paint applying means, whereby said walls will be moved into road engaging positions before said paint applying means is operated.

34. A road marking machine including a plurailty of paint confining walls arranged adjacent each other and interspaced to define paint channels therebetween, means for pivotally suspending each end of each of said walls so as to maintain the lower edge thereof in substantially parallel relationship with the surface of the road, each of said walls being independently suspended so as to be capable of movement in pairs, normally stationary paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, and pneumatically operated means for selectively moving the desired number of pairs of walls and for opening their associated paint applying means, said operating means being supplied with fluid under pressure from the same source and working at a lower fluid pressure than that of said paint applying means, whereby said walls will be moved into road engaging positions before said paint applying means is operated, and valve means for energizing the selected pneumatically operated means. j f

-mally stationary paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent Walls, means for nor- Vmally holding said walls in their elevated positions for independent movement, independently actuated means for selecting and moving any two adjacent walls as a pair to-road engaging positions in timed relation to and before the flow of paint through saidY paint applying means, and stop means associated With said actuating means for limiting the downward' movement 0f said walls. Y H- 36. A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to dene paint channels therebetween and arranged to be actu- .i

Yated in pairs, paint applying means larrangedbesuspending the same, selective actuating means associated with said front wall links for selectinf and moving any number of pairs of walls, and means for operating said actuating means.

37, A road marking machine comprising a frame, a plurality of walls spaced to dene paint channels therebetween and arranged to be actuated in pairs, paint applying means arranged between each two adjacent walls, front and rear wall links pivotally carried by .said frame and pivotally connected to said walls for movably suspending the same, selective actuating means associated with said front wall links for selecting and moving any number of pairs .of walls, means for operating said actuating means,vand a distributing unit for separately and sequentially controlling the operating of` each actuating means and each associated paint applying means, whereby the selected walls are moved to road engaging positions before the paint is applied.

. IRA H. BEAMAN. 

